Professional Licensing Lawyers

Q. Describe the most common types of jobs you do for your clients.

A. Defending against license revocations, suspensions and restrictions is our most typical case, followed closely by challenging license application denials. Typically, the State intends to deny or revoke a license because of a not-too-serious criminal conviction or because the licensee has failed to disclose or notify the licensing agency about the conviction. There is a sound defense in many of these cases. We try first to resolve the matter by negotiations with the State licensing agency. If the State will not agree to issue the license on acceptable terms, we take the case before an Administrative Law Judge for an evidentiary hearing.

Q. What advice do you have for a customer looking to hire a provider like you?

A. It can be hard to find any licensing counsel -- it is a small niche of legal practice requiring very specific experience and special expertise. I have addressed the fail-safe test for potential counsel -- The Blueprint for a Successful Licensing Law Matter. It is set forth at http://www.LicenseAdvocatesLawGroup.blogspot.com/2010/10/blueprint-for-successful-licensing-law.html. Read it; use it. Any attorney whose initial advice suffices by the standards set forth in The Blueprint is good licensing counsel. It is important to remember that licensing law is not intended to be an additional means of "law enforcement." Its purpose is to ensure that the kinds of work that require special skill, knowledge and experience are done by trained workers of integrity and good character. These are critical issues in negotiating on behalf of licensees and license applicants with State licensing agencies.

Q. Why does your work stand out from others who do what you do?

A. In California licensing disputes (denials of license applications, license revocations and other discipline and penalties) are ultimately resolved by a fair hearing before an Administrative Law Judge (ALJ). I am a former California ALJ. This background gives me a deep insight and unique perspective on the issues of licensing cases. It enables a high degree of expertise in predicting the likelihood of success, identifying the client's strongest issues for hearing, and presenting the hearing on behalf of the client in the manner most likely to be persuasive to the assigned ALJ. This background also gives me a sound insight into the likely result of any matter taken to an evidentiary hearing.

Q. What do you like most about your job?

A. I admire our clients, more than I can say. Almost all of them have had some difficulty in the past (often a prior criminal conviction) that the State is using as a basis to deny or revoke a professional license, credential or certificate. But our clients have persisted through their difficulties. They have addressed their problem, and now they want to work in the field in which they have invested and for which they are educated, trained and motivated. It is an honor to represent people with that fighting , entrepreneurial spirit; people who have taken a punch --sometimes a bad one -- and are still standing and who know that they have much to offer; people who are ready to embrace their future without being defeated by past difficulties. I respect that struggle and commitment and determination, and I take seriously the privilege and duty to bring equal measure of those qualities to the legal services I provide to assist my clients in obtaining or keeping their right to work in their field.

Q. What questions do customers most commonly ask you? What's your answer?

A. How much will it cost?
Every case is different, of course. But we keep the costs as low as possible.
In all events, fighting to obtain or keep a license is nowhere near the costs that have already been invested in obtaining the education, training and skill required for the license. And the costs of defending or obtaining the license do not hold a candle to the future income that our clients can earn if the licensing fight is successful, as compared to other sources of income. I strongly believe that the true cost of legal representation in licensing disputes must be measured against costs already invested and projected future income.